When Your Doctor Has Bad News: Simple Steps to Strength, Healing, and Hope [Paperback]

Al B. Weir (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 17, 2003

When the diagnosis is serious, what makes the difference between hope and despair? As a practicing oncologist, Dr. Al Weir works daily with patients who receive bad news. A medical doctor with a pastor's heart, Dr. Weir knows from experience that it's the patient's focus, not the diagnosis, that indicates whether one will slip into despair and hopelessness or have the courage to live each day fully. Resilience of spirit can powerfully influence recovery and healing, and within our crisis, the choices we make are important. When Your Doctor Has Bad News offers no easy answers, no quick outs. But it does equip you to weather the storm you are facing and emerge whole again. Practical tips provide questions for you to ask your doctor and choices you can make to achieve your best chances for healing. Real-life stories show how others have coped with life-threatening illness, walked with God, and won. You can deepen communion with God in the midst of medical crisis. When Your Doctor Has Bad News gives you proven principles that will enable you to choose a life worth living, no matter what news the doctor has given you. 'Dr. Weir . . . guides the reader---especially the one who has received bad news---past the soul-numbing shock of a dismal medical report. He reminds us of the soothing comfort available in the Word of God, of the heartwarming precepts upon which we can build a new life, and of the simple steps a family can take to promote hope and healing.' ---Joni Eareckson Tada (from the introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Dr. Weir...guides the reader -- especially the one who has received bad news -- past the soul-numbing shock of a dismal medical report. He reminds us of the soothing comfort available in the Word of God, of the heartwarming precepts upon which we can build a new life, and of the simple steps a family can take to promote hope and healing.' -- Joni Eareckson Tada, from the Foreword

From the Back Cover

When the diagnosis is serious, what makes the difference between hope and despair?

As a practicing oncologist, Dr. Al Weir works daily with patients who receive bad news. A medical doctor with a pastor’s heart, Dr. Weir knows from experience that it’s the patient’s focus, not the diagnosis, that indicates whether one will slip into despair and hopelessness or have the courage to live each day fully. Resilience of spirit can powerfully influence recovery and healing, and within our crisis, the choices we make are important.

When Your Doctor Has Bad News offers no easy answers, no quick outs. But it does equip you to weather the storm you are facing and emerge whole again. Practical tips provide questions for you to ask your doctor and choices you can make to achieve your best chances for healing. Real-life stories show how others have coped with life-threatening illness, walked with God, and won.

You can deepen communion with God in the midst of medical crisis. When Your Doctor Has Bad News gives you proven principles that will enable you to choose a life worth living, no matter what news the doctor has given you.

"Dr. Weir . . . guides the reader—especially the one who has received bad news—past the soul-numbing shock of a dismal medical report. He reminds us of the soothing comfort available in the Word of God, of the heartwarming precepts upon which we can build a new life, and of the simple steps a family can take to promote hope and healing." —Joni Eareckson Tada (from the introduction)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; 1 edition (June 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031024742X
• ISBN-13: 978-0310247425
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #470,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Al B. Weir, M.D. is a hematologist and oncologist in private practice in Memphis, Tennessee, and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Tennessee. He serves as the national president of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations and lives with his family in Germantown, Tennessee.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straightforward and heartfelt, April 23, 2004

By 

Lisa Quillen (Waco, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Your Doctor Has Bad News: Simple Steps to Strength, Healing, and Hope (Paperback)

This book is a great step by step guide to spiritually dealing with cancer, but can relate to any bad news. The author is very sincere and shares real life experiences with the reader. At the end of the book I felt strong and not alone. I wish their were more doctors with Dr. Weir's faith and compassion.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When your Doctor Has Bad News, March 10, 2008

By 

J. E. Maniscalco "J.E.Maniscalco,M.D." (Fl) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When Your Doctor Has Bad News: Simple Steps to Strength, Healing, and Hope (Paperback)

This book is full of encouraging information for all readers who have had some distressing news or simply discouraged with life's challenges. It is very easy to read and is captivating. Dr. Weir has sprinkled the book with personal examples giving us a glimpse into his personal life and his passionate love for Jesus. I'm a physician and I have given this book to patients in distress. I encourage even healthy individuals to read it in order to be better prepared for crisis.....J.E.Maniscalco, M.D.

5.0 out of 5 stars Comforting and reassuring, February 4, 2011

By 

vetra - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When Your Doctor Has Bad News: Simple Steps to Strength, Healing, and Hope (Paperback)

I purchased this book for my sister who has ovarian cancer but in reading it, I think I received the most from it. Dr. Weir was my husband's doctor and I saw him live out his faith not just talk about it. My husband died in 1998 from leukemia and Dr. Weir was always very honest with us along with the assurance that he was going to a better place than this old wicked world.